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Rusheck Vakkim
Ruscheck Vakkim was a formidable and notorious Magister of the Forces of Chaos who served under both Archon Nadzybar and Archon Urlock Gaur during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. He was the leader of a Chaos warband known as the G'uttkhra or "Thorns of Heaven". Vakkim met his end during a gun battle with the Imperial Guard forces of Commander Lang Mowzer near Penetor Hive on the world of Nyzon II in 768.M41. History Ruscheck Vakkim was one of many powerful Magisters, or warlords, subordinate to the Archon commanding the Forces of Chaos within the Sabbat Worlds. They commanded particular sites and regions within the Sabbat Worlds Sector in his name. Like many other Magisters, Vakkim commanded his own private tribal force dedicated to the worship of the Chaos Gods, and expressed his own depravity and devotion to the Ruinous Powers in the most murderous and vile of ways. Certainly, Vakkim appears to have been one of the most guileful and cautious of the enemy Magisters, a stealthy, predatory warlord who preferred deceit and subterfuge to outright military assault. The prospect of facing Magister Ruscheck Vakkim had been long dreaded by the Sabbat Worlds Crusade's High Command. As early as 756.M41, his name and reputation as one of the most formidable enemy commanders had become well known to Imperial intelligence sources, but due to the vagaries of circumstances, his troops -- known as the G'uttkhra, or "Thorns of Heaven" -- had not yet been directly encountered by Imperial forces. Between 757.M41 and 763.M41, Vakkim's warfleet was identified on three separate occasions as supporting Archenemy actions, but each time the potential threat had come to nothing. Within the Crusade, Vakkim became something of a "bogeyman", a constant threat waiting just out of sight, choosing the most auspicious moment to strike. A series of savage Chaotic raids on civilian centres along the edge of the Khan Group in 764.M41 were attributed to his followers, and added to his reputation for cunning and the ability to avoid military confrontation in favour of more vulnerable targets. In 765.M41, Vakkim was undoubtedly in command of the principal Chaotic reinforcements heading to the world Balhaut to support the Archon Nadzybar after the Warmaster Slaydo's successful Fabian Ruse allowed the Imperial forces to unexpectedly launch a surprise attack on Balhaut. Recognising that he was already too late to deny the Imperium a great victory, Vakkim once again preferred to slip away rather than allow himself to be caught in a full-scale battle. Archon Nadzybar was killed at the hands of Warmaster Slaydo during the events of the Battle of Balhaut though Slaydo also lost his life. Their Archon slain, the Chaos host was soon broken in retreat. It is believed that Vakkim's forces were amongst those that obliterated six minor worlds in the coreward Newfound Trailing, including the forested world of Tanith, in late 765.M41. In 768.M41, his warfleet, for so long the subject of rumour and fearful myth, was discovered at high anchor above Nyzon II. General Urienz, the brightest and best of the new commanders put into place by the new Imperial Warmaster Macaroth, had been directing a line of advance towards Alpha Madrigo when his squadrons of Imperial Navy reconnaissance fighters identified the Magister's ships on station above Nyzon II. Never one to suffer from trepidation, Urienz ordered an immediate engagement, taking the Magister unaware. The orbital battle swiftly became a bloody and furious ship-to-ship boarding action, and in its course, the G'uttkhra proved themselves to be every bit the nightmare foes that Imperial myth had built them up to be. However, the Imperial forces were victorious in the end, and Urienz personally lead the boarding action of the Magister's own warship, the Crown of Thorns. Vakkim was captured, only to escape custody by means that are still not fully understood. In the ensuing confusion, Vakkim and nine of his G'uttkhra managed to flee to the surface of Nyzon II, but they were hunted down two days later by a Kill-team lead by Urienz's brilliant protégé, Commander Lang Mowzer. Cornered in an out-hab district of Penetor Hive, Vakkim and his followers were all exterminated during a brutal gun battle. Sources *''Sabbat Worlds Crusade'' (Background Book) by Dan Abnett es:Rusheck Vakkim Category:R Category:Chaos Category:Chaos Characters Category:Sabbat Worlds Crusade Category:V Category:Characters